Ali Šukrija (; 12 September 1919 – 6 January 2005) was a political figure of

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

, during its period as an autonomous province of Yugoslavia. He served as the 2nd Chairmen of the Executive Council of SAP Kosovo from 1963 until May 1967, 2nd President of the Presidency of SAP Kosovo from August 1981 to 1982 and lastly as the 7th President of the Presidency of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia from 26 June 1984 until 25 June 1985.

Early life

Ali Šukrija was born in

Mitrovica, Kosovo Mitrovica ( Albanian indefinite form: ''Mitrovicë''; sr-Cyrl, Митровица, Mitrovica), also referred to as Kosovska Mitrovica ( sr-Cyrl, Косовска Митровица, Kosovska Mitrovica; Albanian: ''Mitrovica e Kosovës'') an ...

and studied medicine at the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

before World War II. He joined the communist movement in 1939, was arrested in 1941, but was then able to join the partisans. After the war, he studied at the Đuro Đaković high political school of

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

and was public prosecutor in Kosovo in 1945.

Political career

Šukrija subsequently became Serbian minister of the interior and in 1950 was a member of the Serbian parliament. In his later political career, Šukrija was vice chairman of the executive council of Kosovo, and from 1963 to May 1967 succeeded Fadil Hoxha as chairman, becoming virtual prime minister of Kosovo. Following the purge of Xhavid Nimani in August 1981, he also served briefly, until 1982, as president of the presidium. Šukrija is remembered as a particularly pro-Yugoslav politician who served Belgrade loyally in the face of a rising Albanian nationalist movement. In 1989 he resigned from Kosovo's political structures during the miners' strike.

Later life

Šukrija lived the rest of his life in retirement in Belgrade, until his death in 2005.

References